Mollies are a widely available tropical fish. It falls under the family of Poeciliidae. The wild varieties are typically dull and silvery in color.
Mollies can produce hybrids with many Poecilia species.
When it comes to the most unusual and interesting live-bearer fishes available today, Molly is one of them.
Mollies are said to be the most exotic and beautiful fish that you can find. These fishes are quite hardy, however, they can be affected by different types of diseases and can even die, if not handled properly.
If they are exposed to chill or any other kinds of environment that are not suitable for them, these fish can be affected by a disease which is known as “shimmies”. Basically, it is not a disease but symptom of stress which most freshwater fishes would exhibit under the same conditions.
So, how long are Molly pregnant for? Mollies will be pregnant for roughly 60 days. Female Molly can store sperm from a male Molly for months at a time and can impregnate themselves every 30 days using the stored sperm.
How To Tell If Your Mollies Are Pregnant
When it comes to breeding molly fish at home, it is quite easy. Often they are found pregnant when purchased from a pet store. Mollies are a mostly peaceful fish that thrives well among other breeds of fishes. But the male molly fish tends to more aggressive than the female fish, and may not necessarily make great community fish.
How do you know that your molly fish is pregnant? Well, here are some signs:
- The first and foremost sign is a swollen stomach. In this case, you may have some misconception, but you should look at your fish with great care.
- The second sign is that the fish will act strangely and will spend more time near the heater.
- Note if a dark spot is seen near the anal vent. The spot will be triangular in shape.
- The pregnant fish will be less active, eat more and will also stay away from other fish in the tank.
How To Breed Mollies
Maintain A Proper Environment
If you are planning to breed Mollies, in that case, you need to make sure that you maintained a proper environment. The temperature of the water needs to be at an optimum level, besides, you also need to make sure that the tank is clean and the water is free from all kinds of contaminants
How Do Mollies Become Pregnant?
Mollies breed using the process of internal fertilization. The job of the male molly is to inseminate the eggs while they are stored in the female molly. The female molly carries the egg inside her till the time the newborn molly or the fry is all set to be released.
But if it comes to the question of Dalmatian molly fish, the gestation period will be 50-70 days long. Dalmatian molly fish gives birth to live babies that are ready to swim, sleep, and all that of other fun stuffs.
Gestation Period
When it comes to the gestation period of the molly fish, it lasts for approximately 60 days. The female mollies are capable of storing sperm for many months and can fertilize eggs on every 30 days. This happens despite the fact that there are no male mollies present in the tank or aquarium. Mollies are capable of releasing around 60 live fishes at a single time
Protect The Fry
There are chances that the fry might get eaten by the larger fish in the tank. In order to make sure that this doesn’t happen, it is advisable to keep the pregnant molly in a breeder net before she is going to give birth. Once she gives birth, you can remove her from the breeder net; however, make sure that the fry remains there till they attain a proper size.
Breeder Box
You should buy a breeder box when your molly fish is pregnant. A breeder box is like a little cage that sits on the top of the aquarium. When the female molly fish is about to give birth, you can keep them into this little cage. The breeders net is designed in a way, that the little babies fall through the small holes and the mother fish cannot eat them. The breeders net is so perfectly designed and works so nicely that it is highly recommended.
Now the hardest part is over. Caring for new babies is quite easy. You can feed the fry with flake foods. But do not forget to mash them up before you give it to the fry. That is because the mouth of the baby is small. If you keep the fry in a different tank, you must keep a heater for them. If you take proper care of them, they will grow quickly.
It can be a lot of fun watching the fry grow up to fully grown adults.
Using A Nursery Tank
If you want the fry to raise properly, please use a 6 – 10-gallon nursery tank to maximize the chances of the fry growing up to be healthy fish.
If you bring your fry from a pet store or elsewhere, you should make sure acclimatize the fry to the temperature of the water. Do float the bag that holds the fry in the nursery tank for at least 15 minutes. That will help to bring the water temperature in the bag up to the temperature of the tank.
One very important thing you must be taken care of. Even though the female molly fish is going to give birth to numerous babies, the other fish or even the parents can eat the fry as soon as given the chance. So be careful in this case. You can separate the babies after their birth.
Plants are good for the fry in order to live long healthy lives. You can decorate the tank with heavy plants. This will give the fry more successive rate of living. That is because the plants help them to hide from their predators. This is a quite easy way and does not include much work. Plants with big leaves work really well because it will give the fish a lot of coverage.
If you follow all the mentioned points, you can surely see your molly fish healthy and in a stress-free situation.
How To Tell Male And Female Mollies Apart?
One of the best options to determine the gender of a Molly fish is through paying close attention to anal fin starting from the back. It is the initial fin found at the bottom of the fish. The shape of the anal fin of both male and female varies. The males generally have tube-shaped organ termed as ‘Gonopodium’, while the female ones have a standard triangular fin. If in case, the fins of a fish are tightly secured against the body, it is quite difficult to spot. The body shape of males and females can be easily gauged amongst livebearers.
What Is The Best Food For Molly Fry?
Feeding a newborn molly fish is quite easy. Their diet is very similar to that of an adult. You need to feed them in smaller quantities. Some of the suggested fish food include baby brine shrimp, fish food and top quality flake food items. It can be churned and ground thoroughly into a powder before supplying it to the baby.
Feed them in small quantities on a regular basis. It is essential to keep them fit and stay healthy. You need to make sure that the water is replaced frequently. As they begin to grow, pay close attention to the number of molly fishes. At times, it might be difficult to gather them together and makes it extremely complicated to cleanse tank. So you may follow above-mentioned ways to ensure the safety of the fish.
